Regulation?
I would have agreed wholeheartedly with you, Guppy, a couple of years ago.
Now, I'm not so sure.
Let me pose a question to everyone here.
Would you book year-end holiday travel now, today, with most airlines in the US?
I don't intend to, since God knows who will cut what routes between then and now, and the non-rev option is equally unapealing, given that revenue miles flown can only increase as aircraft are parked.
To run the airline industry on a public utlity model would result in higher fares, as well as an absence of real bargain fares, which can be found even today.
However, such a model would also result in a degree of predictability of both fare levels and flight availability not found today.
In the end, I agree that the market must be allowed to work. I also think that a rational case can be made for regulation.